As Ab'ram grew older without seeing the fulfillment of God's promise to give him a son he became very impatient, and was greatly disturbed by the thought of dying without leaving descendants. Instead of asking the will of God, as he had done before, Ab'ram talked the matter over with his wife Sa'rai, who was now well advanced in years beyond the usual period of childbearing, and who felt very deeply her disappointment in not having a son. Her heart, like that of Ab'ram, had grown sore with hope deferred. They did not doubt God, but instead of awaiting His appointed time and way they sought means of their own for securing a son. They rebelled, not against God, but against a providence which seemed unbearable.
Ab'ram and Sa'rai then took advantage of a custom that was often used in their time. Men frequently had more than one wife, and wives taken after the first were known as concubines. It often happened that when a man and his wife had been childless for many years the wife herself would suggest that a concubine bear children for her, and this is what Sa'rai did. There was in the household an Egyptian woman named Ha'gar, who was Sa'rai's maid. At Sa'rai's request Ab'ram took her as a concubine, and she gave birth to a son whom they named Ish'ma-el.
In passing judgment upon this act of Ab'ram and Sa'rai, one should not be too severe. Their faith was great, but it wavered under the heavy trials placed upon it; in their human weakness Ab'ram and Sa'rai fell short of absolute perfection. They did not think it unwise or wrong to aid God in carrying out a promise which was impossible to fulfill in the usual course of nature, and therefore, did what seemed best under the circumstances. Their deed, however, brought great unhappiness to their home, and resulted in trials that were even harder to bear.
By the raising of Ha'gar from a bondservant to the position of a wife, her relation to Ab'ram's family was greatly changed. Even before her son was born she became proud and self-satisfied, despising the very person who had made it possible for her rise. Sa'rai, who had suggested the entire matter, was now filled with envy for the honor which Ha'gar would soon enjoy as the mother of Ab'ram's son, and felt more keenly than ever the disappointment of her own childlessness. She complained bitterly to her husband, blaming him for her unhappiness. Ab'ram refused to quarrel with her, merely telling her to do as she wished with Ha'gar. The jealousy between Sa'rai and Ha'gar increased day by day, and Sa'rai began to treat her former maid harshly, no doubt making life miserable for the entire household.
At last Ha'gar decided to flee into the wilderness rather than endure the ill treatment of Sa'rai. Forgetting that she had been chosen to bear a son for Ab'ram, Ha'gar fled from the unhappy home and started back toward her native land. As she stopped by a fountain of water on the roadside an angel of God appeared to her, addressing her by name and asking why she was there, and where she was going. These questions were not merely to learn what the angel already knew, but to show God's care for Ha'gar and His interest in the solving of her problems. When Ha'gar told the angel of her wish to escape from Sa'rai, she was ordered to return to Ab'ram's home and do whatever Sa'rai commanded her. She was also told that God knew all about her troubles, and would protect and prosper her. The angel told her that she would bear a son who is called Ish'ma-el, meaning "God hath heard." He was to be strong and fierce, the founder of a tribe that no one could overcome.
